Due to Tom and the Philosopher's Stone incident, Hogwarts professors were interrogated by the Ministry of Magic for a long time. Coupled with the headmaster's sudden disappearance, the professors were almost like headless flies. Many affairs went unattended, leading to a delay in grading papers and announcing results by several days. As a result, this year's summer vacation started over a week later than usual.
However, as per tradition, the school still held the House Cup ceremony on the last day before vacation.
Although the students were puzzled by Headmaster Dumbledore's absence, it did not dampen their spirits for the long-awaited summer vacation.
This time, without Dumbledore's biased points for Gryffindor, Slytherin finally won the House Cup. It was their seventh consecutive victory.
But Malfoy couldn't find joy in it.
Tom was gone. Although no one could overshadow him in Slytherin anymore, which was nice, he no longer sought the spotlight as he had before.
He had seen how a true Slytherin acted and wanted to try moving in that direction.
Malfoy looked towards the Gryffindor table, where several dejected young wizards sat.
He walked over, without his entourage.
Approaching the spot where Tom used to sit, Malfoy asked Harry, "May I sit here?"
"Malfoy..." Ron immediately became alert, "What do you want?"
Although Tom's mediation had made Harry's and Malfoy's relationship not as bad as in the original story, it was still far from good.
Malfoy ignored him, thought for a moment, and then sat down, "Professor Murphy said we could sit anywhere, right?"
"That's Tom's spot," Hermione frowned from across him.
If this had been before, Hermione daring to speak to him like this would have been met with a "Mudblood" retort. But now, he was no longer that shallow believer in blood purity.
"But, Tom is no longer here," Malfoy said calmly.
This finally got Harry's attention, who slowly turned his head, "What did you say?"
"Tom is gone. Your Hero group no longer has three members from different houses. If you want to keep it going, I can join," Malfoy said.
It wasn't easy for him to say these words, but he tried hard to hide his arrogance, imagining Tom's posture and tone, lowering his stance, slowing his speech. Looking into Harry's eyes, he said, "I would be your best choice."
"We don't need you!" Ron said.
Hermione, less bitter towards Malfoy, said, "Although I don't know what you mean, Professor Murphy has left the school. We might not even have practical classes next term, so joining us now doesn't make much sense. And, you know, you can't replace him."
"Why are you talking like that?" Harry suddenly asked, "Why are you trying to sound like him?"
Malfoy was momentarily afraid, seeing a haunting red glimmer in the depths of Harry's eyes.
He was angry!
The dismay quickly turned into a strong urge to regain his pride, making him uncomfortable. Malfoy wanted to scoff and leave, but he instead exhaled deeply.
[Let me teach you something, my friend... Staying calm makes you look strong, while anger only makes you look like a loser.]
He opened his mouth, many replies flooded his mind, but eventually, he clenched his fists, "Because... ahem, because I, I want to be friends with you, with you all."
Saying this, Malfoy's face turned slightly red.
This wasn't something the old him could have said, but at this moment, he knew this was the most sincere statement.
And sincerity is the most touching thing.
Hermione was stunned, even Harry and Ron were shocked, looking at the trembling boy in disbelief.
Was this still Draco Malfoy?
Could he be possessed?
Even Ron couldn't muster any sarcasm, only managing an awkward, "Oh, oh."
Harry took a long while to respond, finally lowering his head, "Sorry, we thought you were here to cause trouble."
Hermione looked at Malfoy, thought for a moment, and smiled, "Then, welcome. On behalf of the Hero group, I welcome you."
Harry had been down for a long time, any change was welcome.
Malfoy sighed in relief, his trembling nearly uncontrollable.
Had there been a sneer from across the table, he felt he might have died on the spot—perhaps even worse than death.
But there wasn't. He took a huge risk and reaped a huge reward.
He managed a difficult smile.
He had become stronger.
A leader should learn to control their emotions.
Using oneself to manipulate others, overcoming oneself to defeat others.
And he had just overcome himself once.
There would be many more times to come.
Until, like that person, effortlessly, he becomes a true Slytherin.
...
"Achoo..." In the Magical Research Institute, Tom—now Lucas—suddenly sneezed.
"What's wrong?" Murphy asked from across him. "Caught a cold?"
Murphy had been busy dealing with the Ministry of Magic affairs lately, rarely returning here. This was their first meeting since bringing Lucas here, and he was showing her around the institute.
"It's nothing," Lucas shook her head. "But this body seems much weaker than before, my arms lack strength, and I tire easily..."
"Uh-huh," Murphy nodded. "You're too thin, you need to eat more, and exercise. I'll talk to the doctors, have them set up a recovery plan for you."
"Okay." Lucas nodded, her golden short hair slightly swaying with her movement. "Professor, why did I turn into a girl?"
Tom had now completely transformed into the appearance of a girl.
Her face still bore some resemblance to Tom Riddle, but much softer now. Her blue eyes sparkled, and her figure was that of a sixteen-year-old girl, slender and beautiful.
This wasn't surprising, given Tom Riddle's original high attractiveness.
However, her hair turning golden surprised Murphy.
He guessed this was probably "Lucas's" influence, as the body Murphy had created for her was that of a golden-haired boy, and in the false memories Tom saw, Lucas was also golden-haired.
Tom's identification with Lucas might have manifested through this hair color.
Moreover, this made it difficult for those who knew Tom to directly associate her with Voldemort.
This was also why Murphy added a gender-changing potion to the resurrection potion.
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